How do we define happiness? How do we measure it?

Question

What will be an ideal response?

Answer 1

The first and most prevalent view among psychologists is that happiness is defined as subjective well-being (SWB). For example, Sonja Lyubomirsky states that she uses the terms happiness, which she defines as "the experience of joy, contentment, or positive well-being, combined with a sense that life is good, meaningful, and worthwhile," and well-being interchangeably. This subjectivist view suggests that each person knows best his or her level of happiness. Since there is no test tube objective measure of happiness we can use to accurately determine a person's happiness levels, we must then rely on the person's subjective appraisals. These appraisals can be measured by self-report tests.

What do people base their subjective happiness appraisals on? They seem to rely on several factors. According to Kesibir and Diener, subjective well-being consists of the following general components: "These components include life satisfaction (global judgments of one's life), satisfaction with important life domains (satisfaction with one's work, health, marriage, etc.), positive affect (prevalence of positive emotions and moods), and low levels of negative affect (prevalence of unpleasant emotions and moods)."